The central government has allowed the export of 50,000-tonne onions to Bangladesh and 14,400-tonne onions to UAE, at a time when the staple vegetable's outward shipments have been kept under restrictions.
BSF and Tripura police, in a joint operation in Tripura's Sepahijala district, recovered and seized a total of 88 sacks of sugar and 11 sacks of onions, which had been illegally stored to smuggle them to neighbouring Bangladesh at a higher price.
The central government will continue procuring onions from farmers, and its intervention in both retail and wholesale will persist, according to Consumer Affairs Secretary Rohit Kumar Singh.
Telugu Desam Party chief and former CM of AP, Nara Chandrababu Naidu, criticized Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister YS Jagan Mohan Reddy for his alleged lack of awareness about agriculture and the plight of farmers. Naidu also demanded immediate help from the YSRC government for the people affect
To make onions affordable and readily available to consumers, the Department of Consumer Affairs has started the retail sale of onions through various outlets and mobile vans, according to the press release.
The price of onions hiked four times to Rs 80 a kg in the state capital Bhopal while thrice to Rs 60 a kg in Indore. The consumers are upset with the price rise yet are forced to buy as it is a necessary vegetable.
The measure has been taken to maintain sufficient availability of onion to domestic consumers at affordable prices as the quantity of stored rabi 2023 onion is declining by curbing the number of onion exports.